Tag: meditation

And I Thought Murder Hornets Sounded Frightening – 4 Ways to Manage Anxiety In a Crisis

by Michelle Kratzer

Are you serious? Covid-19, country-wide lockdown, then Murder Hornets – and just when we began to be hopeful, our country implodes. We are all striving to do the right thing, to protect the most susceptible from illness, to voice our concerns over anyone being mistreated. It’s enough to drown a peaceful soul in nerves.

Are you drowning in nerves?

But we know that we can’t do anything to better the world if we are not healthy ourselves. So, after a hard day of fighting off disease, racism and all the other evil in the world, here are a few self care techniques to help ease your anxiety.

4 Ways to Calm Anxiety in a crisis

1. Check-in to your happy place

Do you have a happy place – even if it’s only in your mind? Treat yourself to a mini-vacation by visiting your favorite peaceful spot through visualization. Start by getting comfortable, then close your eyes and take yourself there using all of your senses. Do you see something beautiful? Can you smell flowers, or the salty ocean air? Do you feel the wind sweeping over your skin, or the warmth of the sun?

I usually take myself on a trip to the beach or the mountains. Where will you go?

Where is your happy place?

The deep connection between the body and the mind makes visualization a powerful anxiety fighting tool. This method of relaxation not only eases stress. It boosts immunity, decreases chronic pain and helps with insomnia.

2. Connect WITH SOMEONE ELSE

No battle should be fought alone. Refresh your inner warrior by connecting with friends and family, especially if you are prone to anxiety. Multiple studies confirm that loneliness has been linked with physical and psychological diseases of several kinds. One of these is anxiety. Connecting with someone else helps diminish anxiety in several ways, including:

  • Helping you not to feel alone
  • Getting you out of your head and into the real world
  • Changing your mind’s focus

If you are feeling anxious, visit a friend. If a physical meeting is not possible, call them.

Get out of your head and into the real world by connecting with someone else

3. Take care of your body

So much of what we feel psychologically depends on how we treat our physical bodies. You may have heard that 90% of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for well-being and happiness, is made in your gut. That’s right. The gut is where brain function starts. Eating a balanced diet that provides essential vitamins, minerals and bacteria isn’t only essential to outer beauty. It’s the first step to peace and calm.

After that, treat yourself to a good night’s sleep. During sleep, your brain is busy repairing and restoring your entire body. When you are sleep deprived, those processes are cut short, resulting in increased anxiety. Studies show that sleep derivation precedes problems with anxiety 27% of the time. Adding adequate rest to the right nutrition sets your psyche on the fast track to psychological health.

4. Snuggle

Light-up your brain with the feel good hormone oxytocin by snuggling an animal. According to the ADAA, positive human-animal interaction brings on physiological benefits including a decrease in anxiety and an increase of oxytocin levels in the brain. Studies show that these biological responses provide measurable clinical effects. So, cuddle-up!

Cuddle-up

Taking these 4 steps helps to guard against anxiety even in the most worrisome crisis. Nurturing yourself will help you to keep your cool when the world is unpredictable. If cooler heads prevail, we are more likely to stay healthy and make the changes we need in this wonderful world.

5 Meditation Techniques Keeping Me Sane During this Crazy Lockdown – and that’s no small feat

by Michelle Kratzer

I’m a bit late to the meditation game. It always seemed a bit whacky to me. To me, enlightenment involves googling a subject of interest, not trying to understand myself. As a true product of the 80’s, things like life balance and living consciously just weren’t on my radar. I did get my aura cleansed once after a massage, which I found fascinating but not exactly life-changing. So, sitting still doing absolutely nothing seemed like a humongous waste of time in my jam-packed day. That is until I tried it. Wow. Now I’m H-O-O-K-E-D.

WARNING: HEAVILY MEDITATED

To clear up any confusion, I’m not considering taking a vow of silence or becoming a monk. But, as I get older, I do find myself more interested in the connection of my body and mind to feelings of calm happiness. Meditation is like a mini mind vacation gushing with healthy benefits, plus it’s really enjoyable. So, here are a few favorite meditations of mine, a totally unlikely meditation fan.

1. Mental Noting meditation

Mental Noting is a great meditation technique for learning mindfulness. It simply asks you to recognize and note what is around you. As I’ve mentioned, I have ADD to the MAX. This means that my mind wanders, making mindfulness difficult. Instead of taking in the atmosphere, I’m assaulted by disjointed thoughts: I should do my roots. I need to wash the dog. I think I have Turrets. Do coyotes mate for life? Mentally noting my surroundings helps me stay in the immediate atmosphere. Plus, it’s easy. I just note what I see: desk, pen, books, picture. What I hear: birds, kids, water. What I smell: tea, cinnamon.

There is no analysis or judgement in this exercise; just recognition of what is. Yes, it seems a little silly. But it brings my jumping mind right into the present; ready to experience this moment, which will never come again and could be missed.

2. Box Breathing meditation

Box Breathing Meditation consists of four breathing steps of equally measured length. Go through each step for the same number of seconds. Here are the 4 steps:

  1. Breathe in for 5 seconds.
  2. Hold for 5 seconds.
  3. Breathe out for 5 seconds.
  4. Hold for 5 seconds.
Box Breathing

3. Visualization Meditation

This technique combines visualizing the good things that give us joy and peace, then meditating on them. I find this type of meditation is a beautiful way to connect with God. I visualize God holding me in his huge hands, blessings raining down on me until I’m soaked and floating in a sea of gratefulness.

4. Best Self meditation

I’m only human. I don’t always handle every situation perfectly. So, when I find myself acting like a complete lunatic, Best Self Meditation helps me to get a feel for how I could have acted in a way that feels more genuine to the real me. I settle into a comfortable position and repeat the scenario in my mind, this time acting in a way I like better. This is not to berate myself or guilt myself into better behavior. This reminds me of who I am and improves the odds I will act differently when given the chance again.

5. Walking Meditation

Ah, this is my favorite – meditating in the great outdoors. Find a beautiful spot to walk and meditate. Start by checking in with your body. How does it feel? Notice your surroundings using your senses. What do you smell? What do you see? What do you hear? What effects do these things have on your body? As you walk, the rhythm of your steps provides opportunities for affirmations, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Coastline hills are perfect for walking meditation.

The list of meditation benefits is long and impressive. By lowering stress levels, it calms anxiety, brightens depression and improves sleep, not to mention lowering blood pressure, chronic pain and heart disease. YOWZA! Now is a great time to get in touch with your inner Yogi. If I can do it, ANYBODY can!